Events 9/16-9/19

Friday morning, we had an early Hungarian class. We focused more on full sentences, and just speaking and having conversations, than we had previously. I'm terrible at it.

In the afternoon, we visited Aquincum

https://goo.gl/photos/Qc5YqAt4sAho1gCq8

Aquincum is a Roman archaeological site. Anquincum used to be the capital of Lower Pannonia, a Roman province that lasted three centuries (1st-4th AD). The area was never significantly built over, so much of the ruins remain. I learned a ton of cool stuff about the site, as well as archaeology itself. One of the coolest things is that much of the site hasn't been excavated; it will allow future archaeologists to excavate. Archaeology is a fast moving field, and the prevailing thought is that future methods will be much better for excavation; the best way to preserve a site is to leave it buried. I took a ton of notes.

The reason I have so many pictures and took a bunch of notes is that this Thursday, we have a 1000 word paper due in Late Antiquity. Oof.

After Aquincum, I came back to the dorm, but then soon left. A Calvin student was singing in the background (in the choir parts) of a production of Sweeney Todd.

https://goo.gl/photos/6XcmJG58afiQCQmE9

In Budapest, there's a theatre production that focuses on producing English plays; the Calvin student was taking voice lessons from someone who was related to it, and was recommended for the part. I would characterize the play as dark, dark humor. The production was excellent. The play was extremely enjoyable. It was a good distance away, so it took up the entire evening; I got back to the dorm around midnight.

On Saturday, I got up, and got a bunch done. I blogged, cleaned up, checked emails. Then, I went to the Turkish baths, both for relaxation and for class.

https://goo.gl/photos/uMWBfKGaX8gff7u77

The baths were quite nice, although we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the baths, so I can't show them. The changing area was unisex, with changing rooms, and the showers before entering smelled of sulfur. The pools also did, although less so. There was one large pool in the center, with water about the same as a heated pool in the US. There was a "hot tub" area to one side, with 15 minute time limit. On another side, there was a cold water pool, like taking a cold shower, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The deepest parts of all of the pools were probably about four feet. The pools were not at all for swimming, just laying and relaxing. There was also a steam sauna and a dry sauna, as well as a Jacuzzi.

After the baths, we went nearby to look at a tomb for class, but it was under construction, and will continue to be until March. I had a gyro durum for lunch, which is a gyro sandwich, but a tortilla wrap.

Under construction

In the evening, I watched college football, while getting some long overdue work done on the mod. I feel like I'm behind on everything, including my hobbies. Michigan had a rough start, but came back quickly, and cruised to a win.

Sunday, I went to Erin Steven's church, St. Columba's, for the 175th anniversary of the establishment of the Scottish mission in Budapest. A bunch of people came, a bishop was there, the service focused on it, and a man played the bagpipes in full Scottish garb during lunch. Lunch was okay.

I slept all afternoon, about 3 hours. I didn't expect to sleep so long, so I was awoken by a classmate knocking; it was time to go to dinner with Professor Kim. Every Sunday night, four five students go to the Kims for dinner. The professor lives a ways away. It took about 45 minutes to get there. We chatted a bit, had a dinner of Korean food, and then played "The Great Dalmuti", a game similar to "Presidents", if you've played that, but with a deck 1-12, where there's one "1" card, two "2" cards, three "3" cards, etc, and the lower card is better. It was great fun.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/929/great-dalmuti

After the game, we went on a small tour of some nearby monuments in Szabadság tér. There's a monument of the Soviets freeing the Hungarians from the Nazis. There's another monument, put up in 2014, showing the Nazi eagle stealing the symbol of the Hungarian crown/liberty, from the Hungarians. Many people find it very offensive, because the Hungarians were complicit with Nazis, including actively sending away Jews to concentration camps, for much of WWII. There's a counter-monument that's been set up remembering the Hungarian Jews that were killed. It's a very contentious issue, and the monuments get vandalized from time to time. There's also a statue of the Hungarian governor during the 1956 uprising, and a statue of Ronald Reagan in Szabadság tér. The US embassy in Hungary is also next to it.

https://goo.gl/photos/h64tdLirfZosQ32v9

On the way into the dorm, I found a little hedgehog waddling around. I tried to take pictures, but they're super dark, and you can barely see the hedgehog. You'll have to turn your brightness way up. You can find this and a few other shots in the misc photos at the end of this post, where you'll be able to see it full screen and download it, to hopefully see it better.

After I got back, I watched the fourth quarter of the Lions game, and that's all I really want to say.

This morning, I slept in a bit, and then got down to reading. I still have a ton of reading to do, although I'm glad I got this blog in.

Miscellaneous photos not in any of the previous albums:
https://goo.gl/photos/my1XRR5wg4wRCErP6